By Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
Is FOX News an arm of the Republican Party as White House Communications Director Anita Dunn says?
Democratic and Independent voters beg to differ. A national survey shows that 46 of those who watch FOX News just about every day are Democrats or Independents as are 50 of those who watch it several times each week or more.
Overall the survey showed that 21 of all American voters watched FOX News every day and 18 watched it several times each week. So combined 39 watched the station several times each week or more.
• Among Democrats 17 watched it several times each week or more
• Among Independents 46 the station several times each week or more
• And among Republicans 55 tuned in several times each week or more
The survey indicated that 11 of all American voters watched CNN just about every day and 20 watched several times each week or more.
Combined 31 watched CNN several times each week or more.
For MSNBC the totals were 10 watched just about every day and 8 watched several times each week. Combined 18 watched MSNBC several times each week or more.
These data seen against the backdrop of the recent storm of White House criticism casts the Administration attacks on FOX News in a different perspective. Could it be that the Obama Administration is concerned about FOX News not because it is an arm of the Republican Party but because it is so widely seen among Democrats and Independents?
That the two top spokespeople for the Administration this Sunday (Emanuel and Axelrod) both chose to attack FOX News shows how obsessed this thin-skinned president is with his coverage. It is truly amateur hour at the White House from the top down.
These data come from a national telephone survey taken by the Global Marketing Research Center in Melbourne Florida during the week of October 13-16 2009. The survey was taken from a statistically valid national sample of 800 registered voters. 36 of the respondents said they voted for more Democrats than Republicans while 32 said they voted for more Republicans. 24 said they voted equally for each party.
The survey was funded by the League of American Voters.
